The End
by PKNight
Summary: Last two chapters added. ***Complete***
1. Ready Or Not

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A/N: BTW, the Letters to Cleo song in the end of The Middle was "Co-Pilot" from "Go!" I love that CD!…much tripyness…Anyhoo, here it is….my first lemon-type. I think I'll rate it NC-17 to be safe. Eh, I hope my mom's not reading this…

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Ready or Not

"Mom?" Rory asked hesitantly one night. It had been months since she'd first come to her decision, but she had yet to come up with the courage to talk to her mother about it.

Lorelai stopped the tape halfway through the credits and turned to her daughter. "Yeah?"

"How did you know you were ready? For…sex?"

Lorelai blinked a few times before answering. "Huh. I've honestly expected this little conversation for a while now. Ever since you started going with Jess. My, he's a patient fellow. It's been more than a year."

"Mom," Rory sighed, feeling herself beginning to blush. "Please, just answer my question."

"Well, I'm not sure I was ready, my first time. I'm pretty sure I was just rebelling, although I'm just looking back on it. I don't know: maybe when you have enough confidence in yourself and the other person to know that it won't make things weird, but better. Maybe when you are proud to be giving yourself to another person. I don't know, it's probably different for everyone." Lorelai reached for Rory's hand. "Do you think you are?"

Rory sighed, and thought over her relationship. She'd grown used to wanting Jess, to wanting to kiss him, to touch him, to feel his hands over her. And his hands had been most places on her: their make-out sessions—for lack of a better term—had been pretty hot-and-heavy for the last few months but always stopped short of anything that could be termed a sexual act.

And she knew what it was like to sleep next to him, in a bed, without a lot of her clothes. And he'd never pushed her past her limits. In fact, he seemed to know her limits almost more than she did, always stopping a millisecond before her feelings of discomfort registered.

"Yes," she said. "I am. But…how do I approach it?"

"I don't know, hon," Lorelai said. "That's between you and Jess. You will be safe, right? Protection, all that? Do you want to go onto birth control?"

"Maybe," Rory said, wrinkling her nose in thought. "I don't know. But…what if I'm…inadequate?"

Lorelai choked back a laugh. "I don't mean to laugh, hon," she said when Rory looked at her, slightly hurt. "Really. It's not a funny thing. But you are my daughter. And beyond that, I've seen the way Jess looks at you. There's no way there's going to be anything inadequate about it."

"He's really sweet," Rory said quietly. "He hides it well, most of the time. But he is sweet. And considerate. You were right when you said he was shy."

"Witness me gloating like I said I would," Lorelai said, fluffing her hair and smiling.

"I know, I know," Rory said. She flopped into her mother's lap and felt her mom's hand start to comb through her hair. "I do know, mom. It's just…Jess is so confident. He's so smart and sure of himself; how could he be shy? I still don't get it."

"There's no telling what makes people shy. Some are just naturally reserved, and slow to open up to people. And to tell you the truth, most that do open up quickly don't open up very much: it's usually shallow relationships they share. Not always, I fully admit."

"Thanks, mom," Rory said. She looked at her watch. "I better get to sleep. Hell."

"Ah," Lorelai said. "But second-half-of-senior-year Hell. You'll be out of here and moving into the Harvard dorms before you can even say 'Valedictorian!'"

"If Paris doesn't kill me first," Rory groaned. "She wants Valedictorian so bad I'm actually afraid for my life."

"After all this, she's still Paris, isn't she?"

"She'll always be Paris," Rory said. "Goodnight." She kissed her mother and went off to her room.

Lorelai grabbed a pillow and hugged it as she fell into a lying position on the couch. *Oh, god,* she thought. *Rory is going to be having sex soon. With Jess. Is this how mom felt? Blech, I don't think I like it. Rory is my best friend, and I'm going to encourage her through this.* She sighed and put the pillow under her head. *I think I'll take the Scarlet defense and think about this some other time.* 

That decided, she climbed the stairs to bed.

**********

Her usual day at school completed, Rory got off the bus and walked to Luke's. She went in and exchanged pleasantries with everyone then went up to Jess behind the counter. He'd graduated the year before—not just barely, thanks to Rory's incentives—and had begun working at the diner full time.

"Hey," Rory said, dropping her school bag and smiling broadly at him. 

"Hey," he said back. "So, Paris didn't maim you today? Impressive."

Since the night the three had spent at Rory's house almost two years ago, the three had gotten together at least every once in a while to discuss books, and had become as close to friends as they could. "I think she wanted to a couple times," Rory said. "There were numerous announcements about early purchase of caps and gowns, with special emphasis on the special robes for honor roll and such."

"Ooh," Jess said sympathetically. "Bet that was fun. What shade of purple did she turn?"

"I think it was degree ten, although it was pretty close to a thirteen."

"Impressive."

"So, where's my coffee?" Rory demanded.

"Coming right up as soon as it brews. I poured the last cup right before you probably stepped off the bus."

"Punk," she muttered under her breath.

"Hmm, yes," Jess agreed, and went to attend to his job. While he worked, Rory finished her homework. The two worked side-by-side, helping each other when the need arose. Many tourists watching could only admire the near-perfect balance the two had in their relationship.

After Lorelai got off work, she came in and sat next to Rory. "Jeez," she said. "Think you're taking up enough space here?" She shoved a few papers into a pile and then put them under one of Rory's textbooks.

"I'm not," Rory said. "Really. And I'm almost done. I just need to finish this Physics homework, and then I'm free for the rest of the night." A few minutes later, she closed the textbook with finality. "So, what are you and Luke doing tonight?" she asked Lorelai.

"I don't know," she answered. "Where is he, anyway?" she asked Jess.

"I think he's showing an apartment."

"Really?" Lorelai rolled her eyes towards the ceiling, obviously trying to see through it into the apartments. "Wow. Cool. So, more money, huh? Wonder what I can do with that?" She rubbed her hands together greedily.

"You look like a praying mantis," Jess observed. When Lorelai glared at him, he smiled. "But only in the fact that you're doing the hand thing. Otherwise there's absolutely no resemblance." He gave her his best innocent face, which Rory had coached him on.

"Hmm," Lorelai said, putting her hands around her coffee mug. "I think I'll forgive you this time. But watch your step."

"Got it," Jess said, looking down at his feet as he walked out into the diner proper to take an order.

"Literalist," Lorelai muttered and sipped her coffee. She looked at Rory, who was watching her boyfriend work and smiling. "So, think of anything yet?"

Rory blanched and looked at her mother. "No," she said. She of course knew exactly what her mother was talking about, but wasn't going to say anything specific in the diner. "I don't know. I mean, do I just blurt it out, or should I work up to it slowly?"

"Can you…um, show him…rather than tell him?"

Rory blushed slightly. "I could, but that could backfire. If I don't say it explicitly, he might resent himself…or something else stupid like that. No, I've got to tell him. Maybe I should write a speech."

"Maybe you should just tell him tonight."

"Yeah," Rory said. "Maybe."

**********

That night, Luke and Lorelai went out as usual, and Rory and Jess stayed in, also as usual. "Reading or movie?" Jess asked, settling into a comfortable position, waiting for her to join him.

"Talking," Rory said. One of Jess' eyebrows raised, and he sat up.

"Okay," he said hesitantly. "Let's see. You're kind of pale, you didn't eat much tonight, you've been nervous all day…I'm stumped. What's wrong?"

"I've come to a decision, recently," Rory began, and then chided herself for sounding far too formal. She sat down and took his hand. She examined the fingers closely while she said softly, "I'm ready."

His other hand reached up and tilted her face to his. His eyes bored into hers, making her feel utterly exposed. But she felt no shame, no embarrassment. Only anticipation. "Rory," Jess breathed, understanding perfectly. "Are you sure? I want no doubts in your mind."

"Yes, I'm sure," Rory said. She leaned forward and kissed him. "Positively sure. I want to make love to you."

He hugged her tightly, pulling her onto his lap. He kissed her lightly. "It'll be so good," he murmured into her ear. His hands slid down her back caressing her tenderly.

"I know it will," Rory said.

"When do you want to do it?" he asked, trying not to sound too eager.

"Um, what's wrong with now?"

Jess smiled. "If you were any other girl, nothing. But I love you, and you deserve candlelight, flowers, and a bigger bed than this. I aim to give you that."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"What do you need?"

"Only you." He kissed her, deeply, intensely. "You're all I need."

"Jess," Rory said, her hand stroking his cheek. "I don't need all that. It can be saved for another time."

"But—"

"Do you know what it means to me, that you were wanting those things? For me, and for you?" She smiled at him. "It's incredible. You've got such a tough-guy exterior, and inside, you're as mushy as Sleepless in Seattle."

"Now, there's no need to get rude about it," Jess huffed. But he subsided when Rory kissed him. They stayed in the embrace for a long time.

Finally, Rory stood, and stepped away from the bed. She closed the door, then stood facing Jess on the bed. He was looking at her in confusion, but his eyes widened when she began unbuttoning her shirt. "Rory," Jess said.

"You have condoms?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. Then he blushed. "Not that I was, you know, _expecting_ this, or anything. It's just the whole, Boy Scout 'be prepared' thing. I didn't carry anything around just because we're going out. I mean—"

"Jess," Rory interrupted gently. "Be quiet. You've seen most of me before," she said, slowly sliding her shirt off her shoulders. She wore no bra, and Jess sighed as he always did at her beauty. And he knew that no one but him had seen this beauty without her clothes. She unbuttoned her jeans first, then slowly slid the zipper down. The flaps parted, and she pushed the jeans past her hips slowly, until gravity pulled them to the floor.

"Rory," Jess breathed. "Oh, god, you're so…"

"Shh," she said, stepping towards him. He now perched on the edge of the bed, and she slowly straddled him. He kissed her between her breasts, and she sighed. Then she pushed him gently back, until she could begin on his shirt. His fingers lightly glided over the skin of her back, causing her to shiver. They moved up to her shoulders, and began combing through her hair.

Suddenly, she bent until she could place a kiss on his bare shoulders. "Lie back," she murmured. He had no choice but to do as she said. He lay on his back, unable to take his eyes off Rory. She looked like some sort of mythical creature, a sprite, or fairy. "Nymph" had such bad connotations now, but he wanted to call her that. She was willowy, tall, and beautiful. And his.

Her mouth moved all over him, from his bellybutton to his neck, where she placed a few kisses. "Rory," he said, his voice hoarse. He felt as if his vocal chords were singed and had trouble forming words.

"Hmm?"

"You're driving me crazy," he said.

She chuckled against his skin, and smiled. "I know. I think it's about time, don't you? I don't understand how you've been so patient," she continued. She slid until she was straddling his legs. She reached for the waistband of his pants, and before he could protest had the buttons undone.

She was flushed, and he didn't think it was from embarrassment. She had a look in her eye he'd never seen before, and couldn't identify. His pants slid from his hips with only slight difficulty, and soon Rory was inching down the elastic of his briefs.

"Rory," Jess said. But she ignored him. He was naked to her gaze, and he fought bashfulness. She took hold of him, very firmly, yet still gentle, and he groaned, loudly.

"Rory," he said again, sharply enough that she looked up, her adventurous smile fading.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No," he said. "You're just killing me. Come here." He pulled her up until she lay next to him. He pulled her into a gentle kiss, which heated until neither could breathe. They pulled apart, panting slightly for air, and Jess looked her up and down. "I'm thinking we're a little uneven here," he said. "Your turn to lie back." She agreeably did so.

He moved down, and removed her remaining undergarment. Then he began to kiss her body, causing her to arch her back and make small, satisfied noises. He began at her neck, one of his favorite parts of her, and began inching his way down. He suckled her breasts, gently at first, then with rising intensity as she began to writhe under him.

"Jess!" Rory cried, running her hands through his hair. "What are you doing to me?" she demanded breathlessly.

"The exact same thing you do to me," he answered. He kissed downward, over her stomach, and below. This was uncharted territory for him: with the other girl, they'd never indulged in anything resembling foreplay. Slowly he learned her, kissed her, touched her, until he heard her gasping for breath. Then he felt her whole body tighten and arch, and he knew he'd given her an orgasm.

He moved up to lay next to her, watching her as she lay a bit dazed from the pleasure. "God," she moaned. "I didn't know anything could be like that. Jess, I love you," she murmured, and pulled him to her for a kiss.

"I love you, too, Rory. Now, hold on a minute." He got off his bed and rooted around in one of his drawers. He came out with a box of condoms, and removed one. He couldn't keep the smile off his face as he looked at her, lying on his bed, looking utterly satisfied. "I've had fantasies that weren't nearly as tempting as this," he told her bluntly. Now she blushed.

"Really?" she asked. "You've fantasized about this?"

"Often," he said. He moved next to her, and opened the condom. When he moved to put it on himself, Rory said, "Can I do it?"

Jess stifled a groan. "Sure," he said. He barely survived the process. "You know," he said when she was done. He pushed her gently to her back, and moved on top of her. "This might hurt you."

"I know," Rory said. "It's supposed to hurt, mostly, your first time." She leaned up and kissed him, pulling him down until he pressed against her.

He gently pushed himself inside of her. He felt Rory gasp, but she held his mouth to hers as he intruded further. She made a small protesting sound, but didn't let him move away.

Slowly, she became acclimated to him, and they began moving in tandem, building to a peak together.

**********

He lay half on top of her, both of them gasping for breath and clinging to each other. "I love you," Rory murmured, and placed a kiss on his shoulder. 

"I love you," he said. He mustered the strength to turn over, and they immediately curled together. Rory absently let her fingers walk over his chest.

"I love touching you," she said, watching her own fingers move over his lightly tanned skin. "I love talking to you."

"So what are you going to do when you go to Harvard?" Jess was always slightly worried about that time. He didn't look forward to it. "I mean, you're going to be living in the dorms, hours from here, and meeting all these college guys."

"And I'm guessing that you're smarter than all of them," Rory said. "I wish you would apply to Boston College, or something. Then we could go to school together." She looked away from his face. "Or live together."

"But what would I do?" he asked rhetorically.

"You'd be going to college."

"Not likely. I can't afford any college. No one in my family has the money for it, much less me. All I know, Rory, is basic appliance repair, diner-running, and books." He got a glimmer of an idea just then, but let it stew at the back of his mind.

"You're smart enough to do anything you want," Rory scolded him.

"Let's talk about this some other time, okay?" Jess said desperately. "I'm sorry I brought it up, mea culpa, mea culpa. Why don't we just lie here in the contentment of afterglow?"

"All right," Rory agreed, smiling, and pulling him closer.


	2. A Big Day For All

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A/N: Yeah, graduation ceremonies? 'Pomp and Circumstance' over and over and over again? Speeches made by people who never knew me but claim to have something profound to say about my life? Not my thing. But I figure it's probably Rory and Lorelai's, so this is what it is. I gloss over quite a lot in The End, I know, but I figure, why not leave something to reader's imaginations?

Oh, and don't yell at me too much for having to wait for the third chapter of The End. I'm still debating which way it should go. Bear with me, it will be out soon, like within the next two weeks, at the latest, I promise!

And for some reason, I got the idea that Jess was a year ahead in school than Rory. I know that's not right, but it works for this fic, so ignore that inaccuracy and move on…please? Begging you? Anyway, Read and Review and sigh indulgently at long, long author's notes.

Standard disclaimers apply. 

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A Big Day for All

"Lorelai Leigh Gilmore," the somber voice intoned. Lorelai beamed as she watched her daughter accomplish something she herself never had: graduating from high school. She took an entire roll of pictures watching her daughter walk gracefully to the podium and back to her seat. 

"Camera," she hissed to Luke, who sat beside her.

"Save it for after the ceremony," he murmured to her, passing her the other camera. They were acting like early musket men: one shot while the other reloaded, then they took the newly re-loaded gun (or in this case camera) and shot again. Jess had a surprising hobby of photography and he aimed the lens at Rory, letting out a low whistle. She looked up, and beamed at all three of them. Then she schooled her face to a sober expression, and marched to her seat.

"I can't believe they confiscated my air horns," Lorelai pouted, sitting back in her seat after she couldn't see Rory.

"This is Chilton," Luke reminded her. "Nothing undignified is allowed."

"Nothing fun, either," Lorelai grumbled.

"Well, that goes without saying," Jess muttered, looking up and taking a picture of the sun glinting off one of the stodgy towers of Chilton. The backdrop of a cloudless blue sky was a perfect contrast to the dark gray stone.

A cheer rose from the class seated in front of the audience, and a flood of hats flew into the air. Jess took a picture of that, too. He really liked photography, and intended to develop film in his own darkroom someday. He would have plenty of free time for it, too, pretty soon.

Everyone greeted Rory as she made her way out of the throng of graduates. Sookie, Jackson, Mia, Miss Patty, Babette, Morey, Luke, Lorelai, Jess, Lane, Christopher, Sherry, Emily and Richard all surrounded her, all but the last two chattering happily. When Rory was finished being passed from person to person and hugged, Emily and Richard stepped forward. "We're so proud of you," Emily said, and for the first time that Rory could recall, initiated a hug between them. Richard followed suit.

"You're coming to the party, right?" Rory asked, smiling brightly at her grandparents.

"Oh," Emily said. She looked at Lorelai, who also had an expectant look on her face. "Yes, of course we are. We wouldn't miss that."

Finally, Rory came to Jess, and before she could say anything, he'd swept her off her feet in a fierce embrace and kiss. Richard and Emily averted their faces, but were smiling. The rest of the circle broke into applause. "Just returning the gesture," Jess murmured to her, and she smiled, remembering how she'd run at him and embraced him on his graduation day.

"I remember," she murmured back.

Paris came up then, and smiled at them. "Hey," she said by way of greeting.

"Hey," Rory said, and feeling so happy she could burst, she hugged Paris. Paris looked shocked, and awkwardly patted Rory's back. "Great speech," she told her. "Really moving."

"Oh, please," Paris said, back to her usual self. "No one was listening. They were fidgeting and talking to their neighbor about what party they were going to."

"Hey," Rory said. "Speaking of which, want to come to ours? We're setting up with the gazebo as the food center."

"Uh," Paris said, looking around. "Yeah, thanks." She looked very sad for a moment. Jess approached her as everyone began to trickle to the cars. He could sympathize.

"Hey," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "They didn't show, huh?"

Paris glared at him. "No. Shock, really. They couldn't take the time off to see their own kid graduate. They must have something really important going on, like a facial, or another tryst with the interior decorator." Paris looked after Rory, and all the people surrounding her. "How does she do it?"

Jess shook his head. "I don't know. She sucked me in; she even sucked you in. She's just one of the charmed people."

Paris surreptitiously wiped her eyes. "I just thought that for once they'd show up, you know?"

Jess did know, although he'd been shocked to no end when his mother had shown up at his graduation. She'd announced that she was going to be moving away from New York, and in fact she was going to be moving west. So far west, actually, that she was going to Seattle. She'd gotten a job there, and she was looking forward to it. Jess had seen her smile for the first time in a long time, and she looked utterly carefree. He could only hug her and tell her to keep in touch. Then she'd presented him with a graduation present. 

"This was, um, your father's," she'd said, handing him an older 35mm camera. "I think you deserve to have something valuable of his." He hadn't been able to speak, had just looked down at the camera for a long time.

"Thanks," he'd finally said.

But he was shaken back to the present when Paris said, "Well, enough of this. I'm going to go change. I guess I'll see you at the party?"

"Yeah," he said, and hurried to catch up with everyone.

**********

The food was a big hit, provided, of course, by Sookie. But the big hit for Rory was the decadent chocolate-covered-coffee-bean mortar-board-and-tassel cake Sookie made. "I made one for your mother on her graduation day," Sookie said, "I can make one for you, too." This tassel had Chilton's school colors, but other than that it was exactly the same cake.

Rory took a bite and moaned in pleasure. "This is like heaven in a mug to the nth power!" she said rapturously. "I must have more!" And she dug in. 

The party went on for hours. So many townspeople came to wish Rory congratulations that Jess' head began to hurt. Rory smiled graciously at every one of them, thanked them, and told them to eat and enjoy the party.

Finally it came time for her to open her presents. There were a lot of clothes, books, music (mostly from Lane), and jewelry. Finally, when the table was bare, Luke stepped forward, as did Jess.

"We both chipped in to get you this," Luke said gruffly. "Lorelai, this is for you, too, since I didn't get you anything for your graduation. You both get to open it at the same time." He handed each of them an envelope.

Rory and Lorelai exchanged looks while everyone watching murmured in curious excitement. The Gilmore girls tore into the envelopes, and then simultaneously gasped and looked up at their boyfriends in wonder.

"What did you get them?" Miss Patty demanded, hating to not know something.

"They're…they're open-ended tickets out of Paris," Lorelai said, choking on the words. "The flight goes out next week."

Luke shuffled his feet a little and felt compelled to explain: "We figured that Paris--the city--was kind of central to all of Europe. You could work out in a spiral, or whatever you wanted and probably still get right back to Paris for the flight back."

"Oh, Luke," Lorelai said, fighting tears and launching herself into his arms. "You are the most wonderful man in the world."

Rory just watched Jess approach her, stupefied. "But…how…why…?"

"Don't you like to know that some boyfriends listen when you talk?" he asked, then nearly jumped in surprise when Rory hopped into his lap and began kissing him fervently.

"I don't get it," Paris murmured, looking down at her plate.

Lane—also susceptible towards misty eyes—answered her. "Rory and Lorelai have been talking about a backpacking trip through Europe after Rory finished high school for years. They've always thought it was just a dream. Now Luke and Jess are making it happen."

"Oh," Paris said, and sighed. She felt terribly depressed.

"What's wrong?" Lane asked, taking her eyes off the now separated couples.

"Wrong? Nothing. Nothing at all," Paris said quickly. "Nothing is wrong with my life. It's not an empty void. I have parents that are wonderful and even bothered to show up to my graduation. I have a wonderful boyfriend that would fulfill a life-long dream of mine. I live someplace where everyone I ever met loves me and comes to my graduation party to celebrate with me. Excuse me."

She got up and ran away, anywhere to get away from the charmed girl.

Lane watched her go with amazement. "Yikes," she muttered under her breath. Then she noticed a shiny new BMW drive off in the same direction, and furrowed her brow. *Who in Stars Hollow owns a Beemer?* she asked herself.

**********

Paris stumbled onto the bridge, fighting tears. She was always fighting tears. Her parents' divorce, their utter lack of interest in her except disapproval, the nonexistence of her friends or social life, all were constantly conspiring to make tears well up. She sat down, heedless that her new designer dress would get dirty.

She heard footsteps on the bridge, and looked up. Then her jaw went slack. "What the hell are you doing here?" she blurted without thinking about it. Then she almost blushed. Tristan sat down next to her on the bridge.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked.

"Not with you," she snapped back. She moved away from him, burning with shame that she was glad to see him. He was a jerk; always had been, always would be. Hadn't he proved that the night he left for military school, leaving them in the lurch like that? And hadn't he proved it so many other ways? By flirting with her to get to Rory, who had never cared anyway? By flaunting all his girlfriends in her face, when it was painfully obvious that Paris liked him?

"Fine," he said, and half turned to her. "Then we can just make out for a while."

"Die a slow and painful death, Tristan," Paris snapped. She looked at him, and for a second she thought she saw hurt flash across his features.

"At the rate I'm going, yeah, it's looking pretty likely."

"What are you doing here?" she said again.

"I tried to get to Chilton in time for the graduation ceremony," he said, without answering her question. "When I asked, Madeline and Louise made eyes at me and told me that you'd come to Rory's graduation party."

"So you came here to try and flirt with her and piss her off some more?" Paris snorted indelicately. "I wouldn't try it. She's not going with Dean anymore. She's got a new boyfriend and this one could wipe the floor with you, no contest, any day."

"Thanks for your high opinion of my fighting skills," Tristan said sarcastically.

"Your welcome," Paris said, sarcastic right back.

There was a long pause, and they sat there in silence but for the music drifting to them from the square. "You know, Paris," Tristan began, his voice halting. "I've known you for, you know, ever." Paris didn't comment; she just looked down into the shallow water. "And I guess I never noticed you. Before. But, this weird thing happened to me at military school. I expected to think about Rory all the time. I mean, that's what I did at home, why wouldn't I do it away?" Again there was no response from Paris. "But for some reason, your intensity is what I thought of most. Your incredible focus on what you're doing. Your admittedly amusing frustration when no one else is concentrating enough for your liking."

"Tristan," Paris said wearily. "Is there a point to this? I already know I take life too seriously. I need to lighten up, get a hobby; besides scaring people."

"No, no! That's not it at all. I like that. I like your drive, your ambition. You focus on the future, and what you need to get to that future. It was like something that had always been there, you know? And then suddenly, it wasn't, and I couldn't forget about it. So, with that in mind, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to…I don't know, grab some dinner or something?"

Paris stood, and brushed off her dress. "You know what Tristan? You can jump in this water for all I care. Oh, my god! How can you be such a colossal simpleton? Why did I never notice before that you're a complete jerk? Do you know how many excuses I made to myself for that?" Her eyes stayed locked on his as he stood and faced her. "'He's not really like that,' I'd think. 'He just does it to fit in.' Or, 'He just does it to attract girls.' Or, 'He just does it so his parents will pay attention to him.' Believe me, it's crossed my mind to act like a delinquent, too. But you know what? You didn't do it for attention. You didn't do it for the girls. You didn't even do it for acceptance. You did it because that's who you are, and that's not going to change. You're just an asshole!"

"Yeah," he said. "I am. And you're an obsessive-compulsive freak. What's your point?"

"That even now you're driving me insane! No, wait, it must be too late! The only way I could possibly still be attracted to you, knowing what a jerk you are, and how much you deserve to just get shoved face-down into this pond is that you've already driven me insane!"

Tristan began to grin. "You're attracted to me?"

"Like you didn't know that anyway," Paris grumbled, blushing and looking down. "I mean, you threw it in my face enough times."

"Paris," Tristan sighed. "What do you think the chances are of an asshole and an obsessive-compulsive freak getting through dinner without killing each other?"

She looked up at him. *I'm so going to regret this someday,* she thought. Then she sighed. "Slim to nil. But I suppose we can try. When?"

"How about tonight? My car is here, and you could stay for the rest of the party, if you want."

"Uh," Paris said, for once at a loss for words. "Okay." She stalked past him. "But if you're doing this just to prove that any girl will go out with you I'll kill you."

"Okay," Tristan sighed. He followed her back towards the party.

**********

"Paris!" Rory said, waving to her. "I wondered where you went. Who's that?" Then her eyes widened. "Wow, Tristan. I…didn't recognize you with that…haircut."

"It's not that different," he said wanly. "I had it in the traditional buzz cut for a while, but my hair grows really quickly."

"Huh," Rory said. "So…what are you doing here?"

"Realizing something," he said, and smiled at Paris, who looked at the ground.

"Huh!" Rory said again, this time sounding amazed. "How…interesting."

"What's interesting?" Jess said, coming up from behind her. She turned her head and smiled at him, putting her hand over his at her waist.

"Tristan decided to come join the party," Rory explained, gesturing at the blonde.

"Tristan, huh?" Jess said, and reached out a hand. "I've heard a lot about you," he added.

"I've heard some about you, too," Tristan said. He almost looked amused. "But not your name."

"Oh," Rory said. "Sorry. Tristan, this is Jess Mariano."

"A pleasure," Tristan said.

"Come on and join the party." Rory gestured behind them and turned to go. Tristan and Paris silently followed her. "Remind me not to introduce him to Miss Patty and Babette," Rory murmured to Jess. "I think mom just broke out the alcohol."

"Got it," Jess said. "He can hide with me in the bushes." Rory laughed lightly.

Christopher met them as they neared the party. Sherry clung to his arm, cradling their son Jonathan. "Hey, hon," he said, and kissed Rory's forehead. "It's gonna be some trip, huh?" He smiled, happy that their dream would be realized. Lorelai had talked about doing it herself after her graduation, but everyone knew how that turned out.

"Yeah. It's going to be so great. We're going to see all the great places of Europe." Rory beamed at her father and went to peck her little brother on the cheek. "And we're going to take so many pictures," she said. "We're going to bore everyone with a slide show when we get back."

Christopher smiled, and then handed her an envelope. "I thought I'd contribute a little to the travel fund," he said quietly, glancing around suspiciously. "Don't tell your mother."

"Got it," she said, taking the envelope. "Although that's going to be a little difficult since she'll be there, too. But, Dad, you didn't have to—"

"No," he agreed. "I wanted to." Then he kissed her again and turned to leave. "Jonathan is getting a little tired, so I think we'll be headed out now. Have a great time."

"Bye Sherry, bye Jonathan. Bye dad." Rory waved them to their car.

Just then Richard came over. "Rory," he said. "Congratulations. I'm so proud of you. And, here," he added, also removing an envelope from his lapel pocket. "This is to take care of some of your expenses."

"But, Grandpa," Rory protested. "You already helped with Fez."

"Well, yes, but this is going to go towards something fun."

"Fez will be fun," Rory vowed. "Thank you, Grandpa," she added, throwing her arms around him in an exuberant hug.

"Paris," Richard said, smiling at the girl behind his granddaughter. "Wonderful speech. I thought the quote from Howl was particularly apt."

"Thank you, Mr. Gilmore," Paris said, smiling. "I have to wonder, though, how many people got it, both in the class and in the audience."

"Not a great number, I'm sad to say," Richard said, making Paris laugh. "Anyway, I just wanted to congratulate you on being Valedictorian."

"Well, thank you, Mr. Gilmore."

"Please," he said, holding up a hand. "We're all adults here. Call me Richard."

"Thank you, Richard. I had some pretty stiff competition," she added, smiling slightly at Rory.

"Nah," Rory said modestly.

"Well, enjoy the party, you four," Richard said. "I think your grandmother and I are ready to leave."

"Oh. If she doesn't find me give her this," Rory said, and hugged her grandfather again. "Tell her thank you for coming, and I expect you two at mom's and my slideshow when we get back."

"I will pass along the message." Richard smiled at everyone and then left.

"I don't think he remembered me," Tristan said, feigning hurt.

"I told you he was drunk," Rory reminded him.

The four made their way back to the party and were soon swallowed up by the happy crowd.

**********

Lorelai and Rory sat on the porch swing, their heads resting against each other. "Wow," Lorelai said, staring at the ticket in her hand. "We're really going to Europe."

"Thanks to Jess and Luke," Rory said. She hooked her arm through her mother's. "Just think, in two weeks, we could be witnessing the sunset over the Eiffel Tower."

"Or looking out the windows of the Louver," Lorelai said, deliberately pronouncing it wrong.

Rory chose to ignore it. "Or we could be taking a tour around the Roman ruins."

"Ooh! Skinny dipping in a Grecian oasis."

"I think oases are only in deserts," Rory said.

"Oh, look who knows so much, Miss High-School-Graduate."

Luke and Jess were busy cleaning up the inside of the house, which had been the more intimate meeting place after the larger party had wound down. "Why aren't they helping us again?" Jess asked, throwing a handful of multi-colored plastic cups into a bag.

"It's their party, and they'll help only when hell freezes over," Luke said.

"Or cry, if they want to," Jess said dryly.

They worked for a few more minutes, the hum of Lorelai and Rory's voices coming through the wall. "So, they're going to be gone for a long time."

"Yeah," Jess said, frowning slightly. "But they're going to be having so much fun, and writing us so often, we won't even know they're gone." *Yeah, right,* he scoffed to himself. *I'll notice all the time. But I'll live.*

"I guess we're going to be pretty busy," Luke said. "Summer rush, tourists coming in droves."

"Yeah," Jess said again.

Just then Rory stepped into the room, and closed the door behind her. "I don't have much time. I said I'd get my atlas so we can start planning a route around Europe." She lowered her voice to a hiss. "Luke, what happened to the ring?"

"It's burning a hole in my pocket constantly," Luke said. "But your trip comes first, and then the ring after you get back."

"But I worked so hard to help you pick out that ring. We went to store after store after store. I had to learn the difference between princess cut and square cut."

"And you loved every minute of it," Jess interrupted her. She stuck her tongue out at him. 

"All through the party I was expecting you to drop to your knee and ask her to marry you. But nooo. Did it happen? I think not!"

"Rory," Jess said. "Chill. It'll happen. You can't doubt that."

"No," she said. "But I wanted to see it. Now he's probably going to do it when they're all alone and being all romantic and lovey-dovey."

"I promise I won't," Luke pledged. "Now go get the atlas or your mother's going to be suspicious and think we're planning stuff behind her back."

"And even though we are," Rory said, moving towards her room. "It wouldn't be good for her to think it. I know."

After she was safely outside again, Jess turned to Luke, and smiled a very weak silly smile. "We're so gone over them, aren't we?"

"Yeah," Luke sighed resignedly. "I guess we are."

**********

****

A/N2: Okay. Here's the deal. Anyone who wants to, please, please, please E-mail me with stories of Europe or great places you've heard about that I can use when they get back. I've never been off the continent, and only really have any desire to see Ireland, and I don't think they'll be going there. England, maybe. But any anecdotes, destinations, what-have-yous that people can tell me about continental Europe would be greatly appreciated, and you will be thanked profusely when that chapter comes up, whether I use it or not. Thank you for bearing with my ranting.

And no stoning me for putting Paris and Tristan together (at least for now). He's coming back to the show, and I wanted my fic to at least reflect cannon just a little bit…. I have to wonder, though, how Jess is going to react to Tristan. Hehehe…Luke, Jess, and Tristan (hey, even _I _can admit he's cute even though I hate his character!)…


	3. Author's Note

Author's Note: Hey, everybody!… "Hi Doctor Night!"…erm, no. Okay. The End chapter 3 is put on hold until I can get some stories e-mailed to me that I can use for Lorelai and Rory's trip. Please, please, please, please E-MAIL that to me quickly. I would like to post the third chapter so I can get on with the rest of the story which is in the works in my head, but can't go on paper (or the computer screen, as it were) until I get some stories for the Lorelais! So, please, please, please, please, please, please help me?  
  
Thank you.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
PKNight 


	4. Return to Stars Hollow

Title: Return to Stars Hollow

Author: PKNight

Spoilers: absolutely none this chapter. Completely AU after There's The Rub, actually…

Author's Note: Yes! She returns from the grave!…or at least the realm of not-updated stories… Okay, so this took a very, very long time. Just think of it as how long Jess had to cope with Rory not being there, if you combine the show and my continuum. I know this story is now completely and totally AU, instead of just the semi-AU it was before the new season. I don't know if I'm going to try to work any of the new season stuff in or not. We'll see. Though I did have Jess yelling at Luke about…well that would be a spoiler, wouldn't it?…before the show did. Anyway… 

This is mostly a filler chapter until I can get the next part done (which has been in the works for a while now, almost since I stopped posting last on this), but I promise that when it is done, it will be really, really good. So, please, please, please review. I love reviews of all kinds. Anyway, to all my loyal readers (all two of you…joking) thanks for being so patient, and I hope I can still satisfy with fanfic.

Oh, and don't blame me if I got the time-zone-stuff wrong. It's always made my head hurt. Especially since, apparently, flying from the US to Australia you actually cease to exist for a day…gah, aspirin! 

********** 

Return to Stars Hollow

"I hate cities," Luke muttered darkly under his breath, standing awkwardly with a bunch of flowers in his hand. He'd reluctantly picked a bouquet of roses, whereas Jess had a handful of small sunflowers. "I hate crowds," Luke continued. "I hate airports. I hate tourists." He glowered at a family of four who were looking through guidebooks and talking excitedly.

"But you hide it so well," Jess said sardonically, having heard the litany more times than he cared to throughout the drive to Hartford Airport, the aimless wandering to find a parking spot, the trek through security, and the maze of stores and gates. Jess, being used to New York, felt much more comfortable in this environment than his uncle.

There were only two things that could bring the Diner Duo to Hartford: their girlfriends, who were coming home.

The speaker near them announced another flight coming in. "Is that them?" Jess demanded, pointing at the plane coasting towards the gate.

"According to the numbers, yeah," Luke said darkly. He'd missed Lorelai a lot more than he'd thought he would. Every day for six weeks he didn't hear her begging him for coffee, or hear her ranting about something or other about life or the world in general. 

The ever-present ring in his pocket was practically screaming at him, "Use me! Use me!"

"Now I'm even thinking like her," he said under his breath, wincing at the vivid image of a yelling engagement ring.

"What?" Jess asked, tearing his eyes away from the windows on the plane.

"Nothing." 

Silence enveloped the pair as they waited for long minutes until the doors opened and passengers began flooding off the plane. Several travelers deplaned before two familiar, tall brunets appeared. After they'd caught sight of Luke and Jess standing in the waiting area, they began to push rudely through the people. As one, both women dropped their suitcases a few feet from their men and jumped into their arms.

"Luke!" Lorelai cried before she nearly choked him with the strength of her hug.

Rory took the time to kiss Jess on the cheek before hugging him tightly to her.

Reflexively, both men hugged back, happy to have their loves in their arms again.

"So, you got us flowers?" Rory said, smiling hugely as she pulled back. Jess thought, for just one moment, that he saw her eyes were wet. Jess held up the bouquet of miniature sunflowers out to her, and she took them. "They're beautiful," she told him, then smiled.

"Hmm," Lorelai breathed in the scent of roses. "I concur wholeheartedly. Thank you, Luke."

Luke said nothing in response to that. "So, how much luggage did you guys end up sending back?"

"Not much," Rory answered. "A few bags each. And our carry-ons. We had to put most of our presents in the suitcases, though, 'cause they wouldn't all fit in my backpack."

Jess and Luke picked up the carry-on bags and began leading Lorelai and Rory to the baggage claim area. "Ooh, Rory, why don't you go get one of those luggage carts?" Lorelai suggested. "I don't want to break our guys' backs just when we've returned to them."

"Good idea. There's one!" She dashed through the crowd to get it, and only barely managed to snatch it away from the grasp of a twenty-something woman. Rory comforted herself with the fact that the woman hadn't needed it: her luggage had wheels.

"Did you leave anything in Europe?" Jess asked them both as he hauled the last bag onto the over full luggage cart.

"Yeah. The Swiss Mountains were so beautiful, but they just wouldn't fit, so we're having them air-mailed, COD. You'll have enough to cover it, won't you Luke? They should be here tonight." Lorelai rolled her eyes. "We didn't pack that much, guys."

"You should see all the stuff I got for Lane," Rory told Jess. "I saw where Jim Morrison was buried, and I got a rubbing of his tombstone. Then the amount of vinyl you can get there is amazing! I found this vintage Sex Pistols LP, and a whole bunch of new CDs from some great bands in the UK, Spain, Italy, and Germany."

Jess grinned. "Wow. I assume some of that's for you, too, right?"

"Of course," Rory said. "Besides, Lane would make me copies even if they were just for her." Jess nodded.

"We're parked in some obscure section," Luke said. "I wrote it down, somewhere, so let's just head for an exit. Any exit."

"Aw, poor Luke," Lorelai said, and twirled some of his hair between her fingers. He jerked his head away and glared at her slightly. "He so hates crowds and noise. We'll be back in good ol' Stars Hollow before you know it."

"Ooh, on the way home, let's remember to drop off the film," Rory said. "We want to have our slideshow as soon as possible."

"Naturally," Lorelai said.

**********

"Ahh, the Crap Shack," Lorelai cried upon seeing her house for the first time in six weeks. "How I have missed thee!" She threw open her door and ran towards the house, leaving her bags in the car. Rory was almost right behind her, but she was thoughtful enough to grab her carry-on. She hauled the bag into her room, flung it into a corner, then collapsed gratefully onto her own bed.

"Not that the hostels weren't great," she said to Jess, who entered with two more of her bags and placed them near the door. "But do you have any idea how it feels to sleep in your own bed after so long?"

Jess merely shrugged in reply, then sat next to her. "So, I guess you're going to start talking about the trip sometime, huh?"

"Eventually," she said, then yawned. "Right now, I think I'm running on fumes alone. It was about ten at night when we took off from France, and it's been a long time since then."

"Ah," Jess said. "But here it's about noon."

"Yeah, and I will never understand why they had to create time zones just to confuse people worldwide. Ugh." Rory dropped her head onto her arm, then raised her head up again. "Nope. I've gotta fight this. Let's finish unloading the car." She hopped off her bed, and had barely passed Jess when he pulled her back.

"I think you should probably sleep right now, unless you want to just faint on your lawn." Jess yanked her back until she fell onto the bed. He pulled off her shoes, then covered her with a blanket. "Don't worry about your bags. I can handle them."

"Hmm," Rory said. Jess moved to leave the room when she stopped him. "Come here," she told him. When he did, she pulled him down for a long, gentle kiss. "I missed you," she murmured sleepily as she collapsed back onto her pillow. She was soon asleep, and Jess allowed himself one goofy smile down at her before he left to finish unloading the car.

He met Luke at the car. "Lorelai conk out on you?" Jess asked, noting his uncle's slightly sour look. Luke nodded. "It's like they never left."

**********

Neither of the Gilmores woke until the next morning. "Oh, jeez!" Rory said to her mother as they met at the kitchen table for coffee. "I can't believe we didn't even stay awake to spend time with our boyfriends."

"We'll make it up to them today," Lorelai answered with a decidedly NC-17 gleam in her eye.

"Just don't give me any details," Rory told her sternly.

"Same goes." Lorelai took a gulp of coffee. "Well, I imagine they're going to be busy until tonight. So…what do we do?"

"Well, I should probably write what it feels like to be home."

"Yeah. That journal idea was great. You must have written ten pages every day. Wow. That's like…a lot of pages."

"And Lorelai Gilmore's stellar math brain strikes again." Rory grinned at her mother. "We have to wrap presents. Although how I wrap a gravestone rubbing, I don't know."

"You frame it, then wrap it," her mother answered wisely.

"Okay. How do we frame it?"

"Uh…we ask Luke to do it."

"Huh," Rory nodded. "Kinda defeats the purpose of us framing it."

"No semantics this early in the morning. God. How long do you think its going to take to get used to this time zone again?"

"I don't know. How long did it take us to adjust to Europe?"

"I don't know. I think we broke our personal records on coffee drinkage, though. A couple days, maybe."

"Cool." Rory fought a yawn. "This is ridiculous! I can't still be tired. I just slept for twenty hours!"

"Well, let's get up and do something," Lorelai suggested.

"We could take a walk around Stars Hollow and see what hasn't changed," Rory said. They agreed on that, and walked out the door. 

**********

That night, they separated and dragged their respective guys out for their first dates in six weeks. Jess and Rory went to a movie in Hartford.

As they were driving home, Rory said, "That was such a good movie!"

"But it didn't even stay remotely close to the book."

"Yeah, it did," Rory protested. "The ending was the same, so was much of the dialogue. How long has it been since you read it?"

Jess thought before he answered. "About ten years."

Rory pursed her lips. "If you weren't you, I'd be more suspicious that you don't remember everything in the book. But…"

"Since I have a mind like a steel trap?"

"Rusty and illegal in forty states?"

"You should know," Jess said, and _leered _at her. Rory blushed, but she looked happy about it. When they reached Stars Hollow she parked in front of the diner. Wordlessly, she and Jess made their way up to the apartment, and Jess' room.

As soon as the door was closed behind them, Jess pulled Rory closer to him and kissed her, long and slow. Minutes later, as she pulled away, she murmured, "Now, _that_ was a 'hello, I've missed you' kiss."

"So what's this?" he asked, then simultaneously kissed her and pulled her gently down onto the mattress, lying them both on the bed side-by-side.

"That was an 'I love you, and I'm happy you're home' kiss," Rory said, just before she got aggressive. "I wish you could have come with us," she said between kisses. "I saw so many things you would have loved, and I would have loved to see with you. There were the ruins of ancient Greece, the vineyards in France, Trafalgar Square in England. And the bookstores! You wouldn't believe the bookstores they had on this one street in London. And the clubs and the music," she added as she slid his shirt from him. "The people we saw. I didn't know people could have that many piercings! I mean, sharing it with mom was great, but it would have been extra wonderful if you could have been there." She kissed him hard, then sat up, quickly divesting herself of clothes.

Jess sat back and watched her. He almost hated to admit how much he had missed her. There had been many, many letters, including several that she'd mailed before she'd even left. There had also been plenty of phone calls, with varying degrees of clarity. But it wasn't the same as seeing her smiling face, feeling her against him, just being with her. His head fell back against his headboard as he realized, not for the first time, that he was oh-so-very in love with her.

"I love you," Jess said, and ended conversation for a long while.

**********

"I kept a journal," Rory murmured into his shoulder.

"Hmm?" he asked, unconcerned. She was curled up against him, using one of his arms for a pillow. Not that he minded. One of his arms was resting over her waist, and their legs were tangled together. Right now, neither really wanted to tell whose leg was who's. Due to the summer heat, he only had a light sheet on his bed, and they were covered only in the thin cotton.

"I said I kept a journal. A very thorough record, if I do say so myself, of stuff that we saw, people we talked to, and things we did." As she talked, Jess free hand moved some of her hair up towards his nose. She smiled. "I missed you so much," she said quietly.

"I missed you, too," he mumbled, not looking at her, and she began grinning. _Yep,_ she thought happily. _Nothing's changed._

**********

Lorelai and Rory's party was a huge hit. The drinks--both alcoholic and non--were flowing freely, Sookie's wonderful food was of course a hit, and the slide show had gone off with only a few hitches involving upside down or reversed slides.

Lorelai waved her frou-frou drink around happily, a little buzzed, but not knee-walking drunk. Since Luke knew it was likely only a matter of time until that happened, he decided he'd better make his move. He pulled Lorelai out of conversation with someone else from Stars Hollow who had also been to Paris, and pulled her into the entryway of her house.

"Lorelai, I love you," he said quickly, before she could ask what he was doing. "And I think that you and I are really good together. We sort of…balance each other out. I mean, I'm quiet, you're loud…er. And, uh, you are good with people, where I'm, you know, not. Um…" He suddenly looked down at the floor, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm not saying what I'm trying to say. I'm trying to say, I love you, and the conversation we had the night you told me you loved me has been on repeat in my mind since the day you left. All those somedays…but someday is now, and I mean…." Luke finally just swallowed past the lump in his throat and jerked the ring box out of his pocket. He flipped it open and held it up to her face and blurted out, "Wanna get married?"

Lorelai stared at the beautiful ring nestled in blue-black velvet. It was an absolutely gorgeous flower, with an opal center and petals of stones that matched the flecks of color in the opal ringing it, all set in a gold band.

For the first time that she could remember, Lorelai couldn't find any words. She rapidly looked from Luke to the ring, ring to Luke, Luke to ring, over and over again, until she looked like one of the bobbing dogs on a dashboard. 

Luke began to sweat when she didn't say anything. Why didn't she say something? He knew he'd done it wrong, he'd said it wrong, wrong time, wrong place, wrong, wrong, wrong!

But then Lorelai just took the ring out of the box, and slipped it onto her finger, where it fit perfectly. She looked straight at Luke with tears in her eyes while she waited for him to process the news.

Luke gulped hard, then said, "Does this mean…?" Lorelai nodded frantically, then leapt into Luke's arms, kissing him, crying at the same time.

Suddenly, everyone in the house was clapping. Rory and Jess were standing in front of a rather large crowd huddled in the doorway. Luke and Lorelai broke from their embrace, both of them red in the face, and smiling broadly.

Rory ran the few steps between her and her mother and hugged Lorelai fiercely. Sookie soon joined in the celebration, and then the party went back into full swing, everyone congratulating the couple then going to get more food.

"I'm gonna get married," Lorelai said happily to her daughter.

"I know!" Rory said, grinning like the Mad Hatter.

"You didn't have anything to do with this, now did you?" Lorelai demanded, suddenly suspicious at her offspring's lack of surprise.

"Me?" Rory looked innocent. "No!…Well, yes, but Luke needed help picking out the ring. Or he thought he did. He picked that one out on his own. Let me see. I haven't seen it for months."

"Months?" Lorelai demanded. "When exactly did he buy this?"

"Before we left. I expected him to propose at my graduation party." Rory began matching each stone with the corresponding color in the opal. "Ooh, there's the pink one, and the red one, and the light green one, that's called a citrine, I think." Lorelai looked over at Luke, who was once again standing apart from the crowd.

"I never suspected," Lorelai said in wonder. "I can't believe I didn't suspect it. I didn't know Luke was so good at hiding things." Rory paid no attention to her, and had to be physically dragged away from Lorelai by Jess.

"Congratulations," Jess said to Lorelai, smiling slightly, pushing Rory back towards the party.

"Uh-huh," Lorelai said. "And what are your thoughts on marriage, buster?" She sent him a mock-stern look.

"Me? No thoughts. No thoughts at all. Just sailing along on a cloud of blissful ignorance of the wedded state." Jess looked completely innocent, but Lorelai knew from doing it that the totally trustworthy look wasn't. She glared at Jess, this time for real. He sighed, and edged closer so he could talk quietly. "Not until after she finishes school. I know that for sure."

"Uh-huh," Lorelai said again. "And what are you going to be doing while she's at school?"

Jess' expression immediately blanked. "Whatever," he said vaguely, and beat a hasty retreat. Lorelai shook her head, then greeted all the women who'd been waiting until they could get a good look at the ring.

**********

Author's Note 2: Okay. This was rushed, and it probably shows. So, expect some editing on this chapter after I read through it a couple times and find the bee-lyuns and bee-lyuns of mistakes therein. (And the fanfic points for this one go out to the person who can tell me the book, and author, if you want, that I got "bee-lyuns" from, exact spelling.) And yes, the title was a somewhat-deliberate play on Welcome to Stars Hollow. And yes, the movie she and Jess went to see was Tuck Everlasting. I couldn't resist. Really. 


	5. Bonding, Air Travel and Dreams

****

Title: Bonding, Air Travel and Dreams

Spoilers: None. Completely AU after There's The Rub, no Teach Me Tonight or any episodes following that in my continuum. 

****

Archived: October 25, 2002

****

Rating: R as a whole document 

****

Author's Note: Well…I hope you like it. Review or there won't be any more chapters. That is a serious threat, as there are other things I could be writing. I like reviews! Please give me more reviews!…okay, I'm done begging. Warning: angst ahead. Sadness and drama ensue. I couldn't help it.

**********

Lorelai and Luke were at it again. "Come on, Luke!"

"No!" Luke snapped, his patience at an end. "No, no, no! How many times do I have to tell you? I will not do it, I won't do it, and nothing you say can make me do it!"

Lorelai stood and pulled Luke to her in a hard kiss, not letting him come up for air for a good solid minute. She pulled away, and tilted her head to one side. "Please?" she asked softly, making her most mournful face at him. 

"You've already had twelve cups today!" he said, refusing to be daunted by the fierce blush staining his cheeks. "And that's just the ones you've already conned me out of! I'm not giving you any more coffee!"

She gasped, and pulled back as if she'd been slapped. Her eyes narrowed as she stared hard at her fiancé. "I can't believe it!" she railed, throwing her hands up in supplication. "Rory, can you believe this?" she appealed to her daughter, sitting at the counter with Jess, debating the merits (or lack thereof, in Jess' opinion) in the latest installment of the Harry Potter books.

"Yes, I can," Rory said. "I saw how many cups you had, and you're pushing the limit, even for you."

"No respect," Lorelai said. "I get no respect. Not even from my own daughter can I get back up. And I don't suppose you're going to be any help here either, are you?" she demanded, turning on Jess. He stayed planted behind the counter, his lips twitching and betraying his amusement.

"I'm sorry, _ma'am_," he said very deliberately. She gave him the same death-glare she'd given him every other time he'd pulled the too-respectful act on her. "But as I don't want to go down with floundering troops, I'm going with the majority here."

"Fine!" Lorelai shouted. She pointed commandingly at Luke. "Then…go…get me a…milkshake!"

"We don't have milkshakes," Luke said.

"I'm sure you're smart enough to figure out how to make some," she snapped. Then she softened enough to say, "Come on, Luke? You won't give me coffee, I need something!"

Luke sighed. "Sure I can't convince you to try tea?"

"If God hadn't wanted mortals to drink tea He wouldn't have invented coffee beans."

Just then Taylor came into the nearly empty diner and ordered coffee. "Taylor," Lorelai gasped, looking at her watch. "It's nearly seven! Why aren't you getting dressed for bed?"

Taylor scowled momentarily. "Make it to go, please," he said, never addressing Jess by name. He didn't care that the boy had graduated from high school and was now as much a part of Luke's diner as Luke himself; the kid had put a fake body outline in front of his store. He was just plain no good. "Somebody is cleaning out my distributor of lima beans. He hasn't had any for weeks! I've got complaints! Every time I try to go and buy some he says I just missed the person who buys him out! So, this time, I'm just going to stay up all night at get there right as he opens and find out who is buying those beans out from under me!"

"Whoa, Taylor," Lorelai said. "Don't you think you could've just gotten up extra early?"

"I tried. My alarm clock isn't working."

"Buy another one."

"I just need batteries."

"Get some batteries."

"I'm closed for the day."

"You own the store!"

"It would be immoral of me to use the store for my own personal gains." He took his take-out cup from Jess, handed him money, and stalked out without another word.

"Boy," Rory said after a moment. "He sure gets cranky when he's up past his bedtime."

Everyone laughed at that. Luke presented Lorelai with a chocolate shake, with coffee sprinkled on top. "Oh, Luke!" Lorelai said, smiling brilliantly at him. "It's perfect! You're forgiven."

The phone rang. Jess had his hands full of change, and Luke was busy with Lorelai, so Rory went over and picked it up. "Luke's Diner," she said in her best official tone.

"Hello. Is Mr. Jess Mariano present?"

"Um, yes. Hold on a moment." Rory said. She put the handset down on the counter, and moved to take over counting out the till. "It's for you, Jess," she said, and they exchanged a puzzled look. She divided her attention between the money and her boyfriend on the phone. About two seconds into the conversation, though, he turned his back to the diner, murmuring sporadically in a low voice. Rory frowned, and finished counting quickly.

"Okay," Jess said. "Yeah, I'll think about it. Thanks. Bye." He hung up, and just stood there for a long moment, his hand still on the phone. Then his hand fell to his side, and he turned to face the three watching him curiously. He had a very peculiar expression on his face, under the mask of indifference. He looked sad, confused, but most of all…hurt?

"Who was that?" Luke asked bluntly.

Jess jerked his head up, as if he hadn't noticed everyone else with him. "That, uh…you know what? I gotta get out of here. I'll be back in a while." He ran out the door and into the late summer evening, and before any of them could think about following, the dark swallowed him.

"He went to the bridge," Rory said, shock making her voice sound slightly hollow.

"Of course he did," Luke said. Then he got up and went to the phone.

"What are you doing?" Lorelai asked.

"Finding out at the very least who called." He hit the *69, and wrote down the number on the order pad. "It's a three-oh-three area code. Where's that?"

Lorelai and Rory both shrugged. "Okay," Luke said. He shook his head. "I could call the number, but what would I say? 'Hi, you just called here. May I ask what it was in regards to?'"

"Works for me," Rory said. Then she noticed her mother attempting to sneak out the door. "Mom?" she asked. She hoped her mother was going to check on Jess. Rory had done everything she could think of to encourage Jess and Lorelai's relationship, and she hoped this was the fruit of her labors.

"Can I try?" Lorelai looked stubborn, as if she were going whether they wanted her to or not. She didn't know what was wrong, but got the feeling he was going to need an objective sounding board, which she could easily provide. "Everyone else in this family talks to everyone else. It's my turn to try to talk to Jess." She exited the diner before Rory or Luke could respond to that.

"Let's let the investigation wait," Rory said. "Maybe he'll talk about it when they get back."

"It's either that or have her to drag his limp body back so she can torture it out of him." Rory laughed shortly at that dark comment then looked out the window in concern.

**********

Lorelai approached the bridge carefully, being watchful of any tree roots that would trip her up. She parted the foliage and watched Jess, sitting on the edge with his feet almost touching the water.

She walked out onto the wood, and knew that he couldn't miss the hollow click of her heels on the wood. When she was near him, she sat down, removing her shoes and dipping her feet into the water.

"Wow," she said. "It's not very cold."

"There's not much water there," Jess said, his voice dull. "It doesn't take much to heat it."

"Huh," Lorelai said. They sat in silence, the only sound being the water swishing around Lorelai's bright-blue-painted toenails. "So…what happened back there?" she asked.

Jess snorted, but said nothing. "Hey, Jess," Lorelai said, and bumped his shoulder lightly with her own. "I thought that whole antipathy thing was behind us." No response. "I know we haven't talked a lot, apart from Luke and Rory, I mean," she babbled on. "But I kinda thought we could work the whole former-teen-troublemaker angle together, although I've been former for longer than you have." She sighed. "Jess?"

He bit his lip slightly before he answered. "That was a lawyer's office," he said. "In…Denver, apparently. They called to tell me that I'm a benefactor of some will they're handling."

"Well, that's a mixed blessing, isn't it?" Lorelai asked, still confused, but less so. "I mean, on the one hand, it means that you're getting something, right? And that someone thought enough of you to put you in their will. But on the other hand…someone died." She paused while she considered the next question. "Do you know who it was?" she asked, her voice barely audible.

"In theory," Jess said darkly. "I guess I do know, as much as anyone can know someone who abandoned them. It was my father." He snorted. "You know, this is the first time in years that I've wished I had a cigarette?" He raised his hand, holding it as if there was a cigarette in between his fingers. "My father," he continued, dropping his hand. "The word's so alien to me. Father. It's almost funny. I haven't seen hide or hair of this guy in twelve years. The only time I heard about him after I stopped asking, 'Is dad ever coming back?' is when my mom gave me his camera at my graduation. Now he's dead." 

"How'd it happen?" Lorelai asked hesitantly.

"He apparently was driving and a huge elk ran out in front of his car. The lawyer said it wasn't an easy way to go."

Lorelai had no response to that, and so the silence grew more tense as it stretched longer. She didn't know what to do: should she hug him? Say something? What was the etiquette for this kind of thing? She didn't know, so she let the silence hang there.

"So what… What am I supposed to do now?" Jess said, his voice cracking just a bit. "Huh? What am I supposed to do? How am I going to tell that bastard off now? How am I going to tell him exactly what he did to mom and me? How am I going to demonstrate for him what it feels like to be thrown to the wolves for the sake of some whim? How am I supposed," Jess said, his voice beginning to rise until he shouted, "to rip out his heart and give it to him, still beating, and see how he likes it?" Jess made impotent gestures towards the water, as if he could throw away all the hurtful memories as easily as he could toss a pebble. Tears streamed down his face, but he didn't seem to notice them. His voice quieted. "How am I going to tell him that I missed him? That I never stopped missing him? That for years, all I wanted was for him to come back?"

Lorelai pulled him to her, his head on her shoulder as she made wordless sounds of comfort. He didn't sob, but she felt the tears sliding down her arm just the same. She held him, comforted him, and simply sat with him in the night, reflecting on the thought that it was too bad it took a tragedy to get them to really connect.

**********

Jess pushed open the door to the diner, though the sign on it said it was closed for the night. Luke and Rory half-stood when they saw him, but said nothing about his swollen eyes and the obvious fact that he'd been crying. Lorelai, with sympathetic tears blurring her own eyes, walked in behind him. The foursome sat, and Rory grabbed Jess' hand under the surface of the table.

Rory and Luke waited for Jess to speak, giving him time. "My father died," he finally said, his voice nearly expressionless again. "I'm apparently named in his will."

Rory was the first to speak. "Are you going to the funeral?" she asked gently, squeezing his hand softly. Jess turned his face to her, expression blank.

"I don't know," he said. "I just…I need to think about this. I mean, I don't…didn't know him. Do I have any place to mourn him when he's been as good as dead to me for more than a decade?"

Luke sighed. "Normally, you know my position on family." They all nodded fervently, having witnessed the Louie episode. "But…. No. I have no say in this: this is totally your decision." Luke folded his arms. 

"You think I should go," Jess supplied for him.

"I didn't say that," Luke said.

"Silence speaks volumes," Jess said.

"I think you should go, and I'm saying it," Rory said. "I think you should go to that funeral, go to that will reading, and show that you're better than him, because you forgive him."

"But I don't," Jess said. "I don't think I'll ever forgive him, and I'll never know why he left me. So I'm not better than him." Jess looked down, studying his and Rory's joined hands without seeing them. "I think…I just need some time to figure out what I think."

The three merely nodded their acceptance. 

**********

Rory had as good as moved in with Jess above the diner, as had Luke with Lorelai at their house. The younger pair made their way up the stairs, and got ready for bed in complete silence.

Also without saying a word, they slipped into opposite sides of the bed, meeting in the middle and curling up together. They listened to each other breathing for a long time, neither of them getting to sleep.

Finally, Rory whispered, "Jess?" hoping that he'd fallen asleep, and she just hadn't noticed. He'd looked so…lost. Her heart clutched in her chest at the memory of his eyes when he came into the diner in front of Lorelai.

Jess grunted acknowledgement of the question, but didn't answer otherwise.

"Jess," Rory repeated, louder this time. She felt him sigh against the top of her head, then shift until they could see each other in the faint light from the window.

"Yeah?" he said.

"Talk to me. Tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"Anything. Tell me something you remember about…"

"My father?" Rory only bit her lip nervously and nodded. "What do you want me to tell you Rory? That he used to beat me? That he neglected me? That he used to play catch with me in Central Park? He didn't do anything remarkable. He was just there. He would leave in the mornings for work, and come home at night. He'd ask me simple questions about my day, ask Liz the same questions. Then he'd watch TV until it was time to go to bed. Maybe he wasn't the best dad in the world, but he…just was, you know?"

"Why did he…?" Rory wanted to bite off her tongue. She hadn't meant to ask the question; it'd just slipped out.

"Leave?" Jess scoffed, and rolled over onto his back. Rory saw him as a near-silhouette against the brightness of the sheets in the moonlight. His head swung towards her. "I don't know. I'll never know, I guess. But he never gave any explanation. It was just…suddenly, one day he didn't come home from work. Then, a week later, all his clothes disappeared. Liz had stayed up all night to pack away his things while I wasn't awake.

"After a while, I just stopped asking her if he was coming back, because the answer was always the same, 'I don't know.' She never knew, I think. Oh, shit. I wonder if she knows." Jess' hand came up to cover his eyes. "I better call her in the morning."

"Jess…" Rory said, and laid her hand on his stomach. "I'm…I'm sorry. I don't mean to drag out all these unpleasant thoughts."

"Rory." Jess sighed her name, and put his hand over hers. "They stopped being unpleasant a long time ago. They just are. Well, except for the calling Liz part. That's not gonna be fun. But…you asked, so I told you."

"I shouldn't have asked," Rory said. She tilted herself until she lay with her head pillowed on both their hands on his stomach. She watched him, shadow against light, and sighed. "I should have waited until you wanted to tell me."

"It wouldn't have occurred to me that you would want to know," Jess told her, stroking her hair back from her eyes. "Rory, I've…never had someone who I could talk to like I can to you. Talking to you is like…therapy. It helps."

Rory smiled gently at him. "I'm glad."

Jess smiled back as she leaned up to kiss him, but he didn't mean it. His thoughts were deeply troubled. The summer was ending soon. In just a few weeks, Rory would be going to Boston for college. Away from him, Stars Hollow, her mother. It might overwhelm her at first, but he had such confidence in her that she could handle it. And he hated that she would be able to. She'd adapt to the bigger city; she'd adapt to the classes.

And the college guys. Those he could all-too-clearly see her adapting to.

And how was he going to fault them, when they became her friends, waiting for things with The Boyfriend to fizzle out, then moving in when the opportunity arose. It was what he'd done, while she'd been almost completely oblivious the whole time.

He had to go with her. But how was he going to do that? An annoying voice in his head answered practically for him: _You could get a job, find an apartment. Have her move in with you._

But another voice in his head argued with it. _How are you going to get there in the first place? Getting a job requires a place to live, and a place to live requires money, which you don't have! You've been working at the diner, but you've saved absolutely nothing!_ Way to plan ahead, Mariano.

Rory pulled away from their kiss, slowly. "Jess?" she asked, her eyes studying his face in concern, as if she heard his thoughts.

"I love you," he said. To remind her, or himself, he didn't know.

"I love you, too," she answered. They didn't talk or sleep for a long while after that.

Jess reveled in the fact that she'd chosen him, for however long that might be. She had picked him over the perfect little boy, faults and all. _No prospects, and all,_ that practical voice in his head chimed in. He shoved it away as he began kissing his way down Rory's body.

He knew how lucky he was, to be in love with a girl, a woman, both at the same time, whatever. To love her, and know she loved him back. To know that they complemented each other, played off each other, and enjoyed each other so much. He was incredibly lucky.

But luck has a way of running out just when you want and need it most.

Jess kissed her fiercely, displaying the possessiveness he wouldn't let himself show otherwise, and entered her, felt her gripping his hands as she arched against him, opened her eyes and watched him, eyes shining with love and desire. Watched her, heard her as she moaned, "Love you," as she fell over the precipice. 

He followed her, and when they'd recovered, pulled the sheets back over both of them.

Finally, he slept as she pulled her arms tight around him, watching him, wondering how he was going to handle the situation. 

**********

He stared down at the phone in his hands, then to the paper where he'd written his mother's new phone numbers in Seattle. He figured she'd be at work, so he dialed her office number. As he did, Rory squeezed his free hand, offering her support silently.

"Elizabeth Danes' office, may I help you?"

"I need to speak with Liz, please," he said to who he assumed was a secretary.

"I'm sorry, she's in a meeting right now, and can only be contacted for emergencies. If you'd like I can take a message—"

He cut her off. "This is an emergency. Tell her her son needs to talk to her."

"Son?" he heard the simple shock in her voice. "But…of course. One moment, sir." She put him on hold, thankfully sans any annoying muzak. 

"What does she do?" Rory whispered when it was clear Jess wasn't occupied.

Jess shrugged. "She's…it's hard to explain. A consultant-type person for…I don't know. I know she helps people with business."

"Jess?" He suddenly heard his mother's voice come on the line. "What's wrong? Naomi said something about an emergency? Has something happened to Luke?"

"Hi, mom," he said gently. "Luke's fine. But I got this phone call last night. From a lawyer's office in Denver."

He swore he heard his mother gulp over the phone line. Her voice was strained as she said shortly, "Really?"

"Yeah," he said. "They're handling a will in which I'm a benefactor." He paused significantly. "George Mariano died about three days ago. His funerals in two days in Denver."

He distantly heard the secretary's voice saying, "Lizzy? Lizzy are you all right? You've gone completely pale! Do you need some water?"

Then his mom answered, "Yes, please, Naomi."

"Mom?" Jess asked into the receiver.

"He's dead?" she said, stunned. "I mean, really, dead?"

"From what I heard, he can't get any deader," Jess joked slightly.

"Don't joke," Liz snapped. "This isn't funny. He was your father."

"He was your husband," he retaliated. "As far as I know, you never got divorced."

"True. Give me the information for the funeral," she suddenly said, sounding much more business-like. 

Jess told her the time and place. "The will reading is after that," he said, adding in the lawyer's address. "If you do come…I wouldn't mind if you were there."

"I don't know, Jess," Liz said, and sighed heavily. "This is big news. I'll see what I can do."

"I just thought you should know," Jess said. "I'm sorry if I shouldn't've…"

"But you did the right thing. So…how's everything in Stars Hollow?"

He spent some more time catching up with her, enjoying talking to her. She sounded happy with what she was doing, and settling into her life there. She laughed at Luke and Lorelai's engagement: the thought of her brother marrying was a little too much for her.

"Oh, I can't wait to see him in a tux," she said mirthfully. "I hate to do this, but I've got to go. Are you…going to be all right?"

Jess squeezed Rory's hand. "Yeah. I've got all the support I need." He smiled at her, and saw her grinning back.

"Okay. I hope everything turns out…all right," she finished lamely, and Jess knew that she wouldn't be coming. And he understood, somewhat, the desire not to have to deal with it.

"Thanks, mom," Jess said softly. "I'll talk to you sometime."

"Good bye, Jess," she replied, and there was a soft click over the line.

Rory was silent for a moment after he hung up. Then she said quietly, "So you've decided to go?"

"Sure sounds that way, doesn't it?" Jess asked, then realized he had. "Yep. I guess I'm heading to Denver."

"Good. We'll have fun. I mean, aside from the whole funeral thing," Rory said.

"What?"

"I'm coming with you." She frowned at him. "Did you think I was going to let you go by yourself? That I was going to _make_ you? Jess, I'm coming along. I'm the support, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Jess said. He raised his arm, and Rory promptly snuggled herself next to him, relieved that he wasn't protesting. They enjoyed the next few hours off from the diner immensely.

**********

Jess felt the ground falling away beneath the tires of the plane and gripped the arm rests nervously. Rory looked down at his whitened knuckles, then back up at his face. "Oh, my God, you've never flown before, have you?"

Jess scowled at her. "So what? I lived in New York all my life, then Stars Hollow. Not exactly flight-required there."

"I just…didn't expect that there was anything you'd be scared of."

"I'm not scared," he snapped. 

She raised an eyebrow at him calmly. "Somebody's awfully defensive," she said teasingly. Then she relented, and put her hand over the back of his, prying his fingers up with difficulty. Then she grabbed onto his hand. "We'll be fine. This is perfect flying weather. Look." She gestured out the window beside her as the plane leveled out. "There's this cloudscape out there that's gorgeous." Jess leaned over her to look out the window; fluffy white hills as far as he could see.

Unconsciously, he relaxed against her, and she ran her fingers through his hair. "See? Not so bad."

He sat back, eyes fixed on her then lightly kissed her on the lips before settling back in his seat. "No, I guess not."

The flight went smoothly, only hitting a little turbulence over Iowa. They spent the flight talking and reading, relaxing for the stressful time ahead.

The rental car was complements of the lawyer's office, and Jess wondered if they did that for all out-of-state people. Rory could only shrug as she buckled in. "And we have a reservation at a Holiday Inn here, right?" she asked him as they negotiated their way out of Denver International Airport's parking lots.

"Right," Jess said, beginning to feel tense.

Rory flipped on the radio and began searching for a good channel. She settled on a station playing something from the early nineties, one of the more tolerable hits from that era.

"Lots of country around here," Rory said, squinting at the dial. "There must have been three country stations for every other kind."

"The Wild, Wild West," Jess drawled mockingly.

"This doesn't look like the open range to me," Rory gestured at the smoggy city.

"Nope," he said, surveying the skyline. "Looks just like home."

**********

Rory and Jess stood outside in the oppressive late-summer heat. Rory wore a black skirt she'd borrowed from her mother and a lightweight black top. Jess wore black jeans and a dark blue shirt. He looked perfectly at home in the city. She looked up at the church in front of her, people slowly filing inside. "Where do we sit?" she murmured to him as they began to make their way inside.

"I don't know," Jess murmured back. "Maybe just take a seat in the back."

Rory nodded, unwilling and unable to contradict that.

She watched the church fill slowly, sporadically. The front pew, traditionally the spot for family, wasn't filled until just before the music started. A woman sat in the pew, with a young girl, maybe three or four, in tow. The girl was quiet, almost eerily so when they passed the Connecticut pair. But she looked up, eyes latching onto Jess for the slightest moment.

Jess sat, stiff as a board against her side, staring at the coffin at the head of the aisle. Rory just held his hand, not knowing what else she could do to help comfort.

He didn't cry; he'd done all the crying he was going to on the bridge with Lorelai. In fact, he barely moved at all during the ceremony. He only stood after almost everyone else had filed through the line past the coffin. Only a few stragglers were behind them as they approached the open casket, and Jess got his first—and last—glimpse of his father in twelve years.

He stared down at his father's body for a long time. It was all Rory could do to hold back her tears as she stared into her boyfriend's closed-off expression. "What did you leave me, old man?" Jess asked the corpse quietly, so low she almost didn't catch it. "Why did you drag me back into your life when you're the one who left me willingly?"

Rory tugged at his arm as gently as she could. "Come on, Jess."

They stood back at the gravesite, watching the coffin being lowered into the ground. They were the first in their rental cars, and they drove in complete silence back towards the heart of Denver, and the lawyer's office.

An efficient-looking secretary greeted them with a cheerful smile as they entered the lobby.

"I'm here for the will reading of George Mariano," Jess said without inflection.

"So am I," someone said from behind them. They both turned to see the woman from the front pew holding the young girl. "I'll show them where it is, Marie," she added to the secretary.

Jess didn't reply, so Rory did. "Thank you. We'd really appreciate that." She smiled gently at the little girl, who waved hello.

They followed the woman wordlessly up a flight of stairs and down a winding corridor until they came to an office. The woman knocked on the door before opening it, and gestured Jess and Rory inside ahead of her. The little girl's eyes once again latched onto Jess as he walked past, and this time he noticed. Unsure how to react, he sent an odd half-smile towards her.

They entered a stereotypical law office: leather furniture, ferns sprouting out of plants, a huge oak desk situated near the far wall, and bookcases lining the wall. "Too bad those are law books," Jess murmured to Rory, who smiled slightly in response. They sat at the back of a grouping of chairs.

An older man entered and moved behind the desk, nodding greetings to most of those in the room already. There seemed to be a lot of benefactors at this reading. The woman sat in front, while the little girl played with some toys situated in the corner of the office. The toys were an interesting note: the pastels and plastics clashed horribly with the office décor.

"I'd say welcome everyone," the older man said, his voice clear and crisp, "but the occasion is not a happy one. We are all here for the reading of George Mariano's will. Anyone not here for that reason, should leave right now." Rory smiled gently in acknowledgement of the joke. The lawyer reminded her of her grandfather as he put on his glasses and opened the file in front of him. "Now, I have to make sure that everyone named in the will is present." Jess was last on the list, and caused a general murmuring in the room when the name, "Jess Mariano," was announced.

"Let's get down to it, shall we?" the lawyer asked rhetorically, sparing one hard look for Jess before turning back to the paper in front of him.

He began reading the terms of the will. "To Lana Jeffries, I leave my apartment, and a trust fund for the upkeep thereof." The woman from the front pew nodded, holding a tissue to her eyes. "To Patricia Jeffries, I leave a fund of fifty thousand dollars, to be used for college, and to become available to her when she reaches the age of eighteen." Lana gasped and looked over at her daughter, blissfully playing with a wire-and-plastic contraption, oblivious to the fact that she was now set for college. "I leave an additional fifty thousand dollars to Patricia Jeffries, to be placed in the care of her mother Lana, for her care and upbringing."

Jess sat stiffly in his chair, waiting his turn. He silently marveled at the amount of money his father had available to give away. He gave several tens of thousands to various charities, the representatives for which sat in chairs around the room. His work received money to set up a scholarship fund for any promising interns or young people on the job. And wondered about the pair of women name Jeffries.

"And finally, to my son, Jess Mariano, I leave a letter, which my lawyer will deliver, and the monetary fund of five-hundred-thirty thousand dollars."

Rory gasped, and she wasn't the only one as everyone in the room stared at the major benefactor of the will. Rory gripped his arm as she studied his face, which showed no recognition that he'd heard correctly. A moment later, he blinked several times. "What?" he demanded.

"Would you like me to re-read that last bit?" the lawyer asked, though not without sympathy, looking at Jess over the tops of his glasses.

"N-no," Jess said. "That's all right. Please, c-continue." He sat back in his chair, still blank with shock.

The rest of the will reading went by in a daze, though there wasn't much of it. Rory sat with him as everyone else filed out, save Lana, Patricia, and the lawyer.

"Mr. Mariano?" the lawyer asked, approaching. Jess could only nod in response. "And you are?" He turned to Rory.

"Rory Gilmore," she said, and reached out to shake his hand. "I'm his girlfriend."

The lawyer smiled at her gently. "Mr. Mariano, here is the letter your father mentioned in his will." Lana cleared her throat from behind him, and he smiled at her gently. "Take your time." With that, he left the room.

Lana walked over and turned a chair to face them. Rory finally got to study her up close. She was very pretty, with light blonde hair cut short to her chin, striking green eyes, and a fox-like face. Her daughter looked very much like her, but had a softer face due to youth.

"So," Lana said quietly. "You're his son. The only picture he has of you, you're about six. I had no idea you were this old."

"He has a picture of me?" Jess asked.

Lana nodded solemnly, but there was a tiny smile in place. "He keeps a copy on his desk, and one on his refrigerator."

Jess nodded at Patricia, who was trying to climb into her mother's lap. "Is she…my sister?"

"By blood, no," Lana said. "By spirit, yes. You see, your father and my late husband were best friends and business partners. Most wouldn't be able to make that work, but they did. They were very successful after struggling for a few years. Your father was a very rich man."

"Isn't that interesting?" Jess muttered. He didn't know whether he was bitter or just shocked. As far as he knew, his mother had never received any money from his father after he'd left.

"After my husband died, your father began taking care of us." Lana smiled down at her daughter, who looked as if she were falling asleep. "I have a job, but it's not very good. It's fulfilling, I enjoy it, but it wouldn't pay the rent. Your father let us move in with him. And he became very fond of Patty. He became like a father to her."

"Were you two…" Jess trailed off, unsure whether to finish his question.

Lana shook her head, understanding and not taking offense. "No. It was never like that between us. We were friends while my husband was alive, and we remained friends even after we became roommates. He'd watch Patty if I had to work at night." Lana bit her lip, which had begun to tremble. "Pardon me," she said, and took a deep breath. "I just am so grateful for what he's done." She stopped, controlling her sobs. "I owe him my sanity after Walter died. If it hadn't been for him, I would have gone insane making the funeral arrangements, and everything that needed to be done."

Jess looked up at the ceiling for a long moment before saying, "Well, I'm glad there was someone he could be there for." Rory closed her eyes at his biting tone, but didn't protest.

Neither did Lana. "It took a while, but he told me what he'd done. He figures that's why he latched on to Patty and I; he was trying to make up for what he'd done to you and your mother." She sighed. "I don't expect he thought any of this would make up for it, either. But it's the best he can do."

"Yeah. I bet. Well, thanks for clearing that up," Jess said bitterly. "It really helps to have a clear picture of my father for the first time in twelve years."

Lana didn't look offended. "I'm sorry he failed you. But please try to take comfort in the fact that he didn't fail us. Take the money he's left you as the peace offering it was meant. I'm not saying you should forgive him. But try to understand."

She stood, and propped Patty on her hip. "It was nice meeting you. I'm sorry it wasn't under less tragic circumstances." They left.

Jess stared at the envelope in his hands as if he didn't know where it came from, or what it could contain. In fact, he didn't know what it could contain.

"The only way you'll find out what it says is if you open it," Rory said quietly. "You don't have X-ray vision, and can't read it inside the envelope."

"How do I know I want to read it?" he asked. "Why can't I just take the money and run, and fuck him?" The way he said it, completely dead voiced left Rory cold. "He left me, Rory." Jess looked at her for the first time. "No explanation, nothing to explain what I'd done to make him leave. How horrible must I have been?"

"Jess," Rory said sharply. "It obviously wasn't your fault."

"He had love to give," Jess said. "He just couldn't give it to me. It has to be my fault. What other explanation is there?"

"You listen to me, Jess Mariano," Rory said sternly. "There is nothing wrong with you that a few smacks to the head wouldn't fix. You are an incredible man. Intelligent, resourceful, funny, kind, and caring. Anyone who can't see that is a fool. And if you were so horrible, why did he take a picture of you with him? Why did he have a picture at work, where he would look at it every single day?"

Jess sighed and looked away from her angry glare. "I don't know. To remind him why he left."

Rory did something she never thought she'd do. She reached up and slapped him hard on the back of the head. He ducked his head before looking up at her with an incredulous expression on his face. She looked in shock down at her own hand, but was determined to make him see. "If you say one more word about causing him to leave, I'll do that again. It's not your fault: you didn't make him leave, and you didn't drive him away. Now stop being stupid and start being that stubborn smart man I fell in love with, and open that damn letter!"

Jess' mouth twitched up at the corners, his first real smile in several days. He leaned forward and kissed Rory gently, his scalp still stinging a little. "I knew I loved you for a reason," he said as he pulled away slightly. "Thanks for knocking some sense into me, Gilmore."

"Any time," Rory said. "And I mean that literally."

Jess ripped open the envelope, and stared down at the page of hand-written words.

Dear Jess,

I don't really know where to begin. If you're getting this letter, I died before I could get the balls to contact you or your mother, and I apologize for lacking that courage. I want to start by saying it wasn't your fault, or your mother's fault that I left. I honestly don't know why I left. It all became too much for me, and I had to leave. My own expectations were stifling me. It's so hard to articulate in words, but I've got to try. My head was causing me to see things that weren't there, to feel pressures that didn't actually exist. So I ran. Not your fault, or Liz's.

I took a picture of you with me. I keep it where I can see it most of the time. I know you undoubtedly don't look like that any more. In fact, at the time I'm writing this you're already eighteen, an adult. Definitely too old to still be my little boy. But you'll forever be my little boy, and it's my fault. I hope I'll get the courage to contact you someday.

I updated my will when Lana and little Patty moved in. I still love your mother, Jess. Lana was never for me. Her heart belonged to Walter. He was my best friend, the one who helped me start my business. In case you were wondering, my company is one of the largest plastics companies in the world. I amassed quite a fortune after I came here, and I owe most of that to Walter. So, I was trying to pay him back for everything he's done for me by helping his wife and daughter. Knowing Lana, she's probably introduced herself already.

But in trying to pay Walter back after his death, I find that I've actually helped someone. And I like that feeling. At the same time, it makes the weight on my chest unbearable because of what I failed to give you. And for that, there's no saying I'm sorry, or asking for forgiveness. But I hope you can give it anyway.

The money I've left you is to be used to help one of your dreams come true. No matter what it is, I want you to go for what you've always wanted. Take a trip to someplace you've never been. Start a business. Or paint, or sculpt. But do whatever makes you happy. I hope you accept what I'm trying to give you.

George Mariano

P.S. For whatever it's worth…I'm sorry.

Jess let the letter fall into his lap. Make his dream come true? He didn't know what his dream was. But now, maybe he'd have to opportunity to find out. In Boston. He smiled. "Come on," he said, abruptly standing from his chair, startling Rory. "Let's go out to dinner."

"Oh," Rory said, a puzzled but happy frown in place. "Okay."

"And let's talk about something other than this tonight," Jess added, and stuffed the now-folded letter into his pocket.

**********

****

Author's Note 2: Please review. I apologize that I don't know when Jess' dad left, and am therefore inconsistent. In Off the Bus, his dad has only been gone for a few years. But in here, he left when Jess was six or seven. Sorry for the inconsistency, but it worked for this story, and the other one worked for Off the Bus.

On the other hand, I dare people to try and guess what Jess is going to do, 'cause I've already got it mapped out in my head. But I'd like to hear other's takes on what he should do. And one more time…please *please* review if you read this and liked it. Greatly appreciated. Thank you.


	6. Getting Started

Author's Note: Okay. So my computer is all SNAFU'd. Completely. Utterly. So this chapter isn't in HTML format. Oops. Blame Compaq. Oh, and the title of this chapter is an unintentional pun/reference . . .not on purpose.  
  
**********  
  
Getting Started  
  
"This is a lovely apartment," the woman said, opening the door ahead of them and gesturing Jess and Rory into the apartment. "It's just perfect for a young couple starting out."  
  
"Well," Rory said. "I have to live in the dorms for freshman year, but after that," she hitched her elbow through Jess', "it's apartment living for two."  
  
"That's wonderful," the woman said insincerely, smile still in place. "Now, it's a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment with a nice kitchen-slash-dining room, and a living room. It comes fully furnished, and you can decorate with whatever you want, as long as it's not permanent." She waited while Jess walked around the room, slightly unnerved by his silence. He looked out the window, taking in the view of a busy street with stores on each side.  
  
He asked his first question. "What's in the storefront below us?"  
  
"It's currently vacant. But it won't be anything like a noisy bar or a club or whatnot," she said. "It's only zoned for retail stores."  
  
"Really?" he asked, interested now. The money was burning a hole in his proverbial pocket. He'd laid aside the change left over after taxes for investment, and had even hired a broker to manage it for him. So he had five hundred thousand dollars waiting to be used. His father had said to make his dream come true, so that's what he would do.  
  
"I'm gonna go check out the bed and bath," Rory said, leaving him and the Realtor alone in the room.  
  
There was a moment of awkward silence before he asked, "Do you handle the storefront downstairs, too?"  
  
She looked startled, then patronizing. "Yes. But it's a business property, and way beyond your price range."  
  
"I thought you were supposed to encourage sales," he said icily. "Not discourage. Just answer my questions without your personal comments." She looked taken aback at his order, but, sensing there was more to this situation--dollar-wise--she capitulated. "Square footage?" he asked.  
  
She flipped through her notes. "Around a thousand, I believe. Oh, yes. Right here. One thousand fifty square feet."  
  
"Price for renting?"  
  
"Eight thousand a month," she said, expecting him to choke on the number. Instead, he did some mental arithmetic, liking what he arrived at.  
  
"Can I make an appointment with you to check out that property?" he said, glancing towards the doorway to the bedroom.  
  
"I have an hour free tomorrow," she said, surprised but intrigued.  
  
"Anyone else interested in that property right now?"  
  
"It's only been vacant for a few days," she answered, a trifle defensively.  
  
"I'll take that as a no," Jess said. "What time tomorrow?"  
  
They set the appointment and were shaking hands on it when Rory walked back into the room, eyebrows raised. "It's a nice apartment," she said, looking at her boyfriend pointedly.  
  
"So you like it," Jess said. She nodded fervently. "Looks like we'll take it," he said.  
  
"Really?" she asked. "I haven't even told you the monthly rent."  
  
"Well, tell me now so I can cut a check."  
  
"I wish I could," she said, licking her lips at the prospect. He was obviously richer than he looked. "But first I have to submit your tenant application to the landlord, and you have to be. . .well. . ."  
  
"Checked out?" Rory supplied.  
  
"For wont of a better term, yes," she said gratefully.  
  
Jess shrugged and filled out the application form, noting her name already filled in on the line, "Shown property by" line. Nora Pembrooke, he thought. How very. . .pretentious.  
  
Rory and Nora chatted idly while he filled in the form, but he managed to block most of it out. Only half of his attention was focused on the papers. The other half was trying to figure out how to manage what he was about to attempt.  
  
When he finally handed the form to Nora, she looked relieved. "I'm afraid I might be a bit late for my next appointment," she explained.  
  
"Rory," Jess said. "Why don't you head on down and start the car?"  
  
She eyed him warily at such a transparent dismissal, but shrugged assent.  
  
"So I'll see you tomorrow at two?" Jess asked Nora.  
  
She nodded. "But why keep it a secret from your girlfriend? It's not like it's an engagement ring."  
  
"Not yet," Jess muttered. "It's a surprise, okay?" He turned and left abruptly, leaving Nora to shake her head and inspect the apartment one last time.  
  
**********  
  
That night at the hotel Jess was staying in, Rory asked, "What were you shaking hands with her for?"  
  
"No reason," he answered. He turned away from her and flipped a page in his book.  
  
Rory was technically staying in the dorms during freshman orientation week at Harvard, before any actual classes started, but she planned on staying with Jess most nights until he could move into the apartment. Her mother had given her the Jeep as a going-away present, sighting that she was tired of it and wanted a new car anyway. So she used the Jeep to commute between Cambridge and Boston proper.  
  
"Hey, what do you have going on tomorrow afternoon?" Jess asked, still not looking at her.  
  
She huffed a little, then said, "I've got a tour of the campus scheduled from noon to three. I've all ready done a tour, but did they listen to me? No!"  
  
"So skip it," he suggested, knowing she wouldn't do anything like that.  
  
"No. Maybe mom and I missed something," she said, and flopped down on the bed next to him. "Fine, I'll stop asking about why you shook hands with Nora."  
  
He dropped the book and turned until he faced her. She hadn't expected the solemn look on his face, and she blinked. "Thanks," he told her, then leaned forward and kissed her.  
  
**********  
  
Jess was up to something, she was sure of it. The fact that he didn't even bother to try and deny it just made her madder. Did he think she wouldn't be happy with his idea? Did he think she'd hate it?  
  
She floated through orientation week with a minimum of fuss. Her roommate was okay, but it would take time to get used to having a stranger living in the same room as you. Jennifer wasn't even really that bad, unless you counted that she was constantly wearing pastels. She didn't have one dark color in her entire wardrobe. But, Rory reminded herself, at least her roommate wasn't Paris. Friends they may have become-after a long, long time- but if they'd had to live together they would have ended up as a murder/suicide. That was beside the point.  
  
"What do you mean, he's up to something?" Paris demanded, lying across Rory's bed in what passed for a relaxed pose in Paris' universe.  
  
"He's hiding something from me," Rory said, spinning in her desk chair. "I mean, he's being even more taciturn than usual."  
  
"I meant," Paris said pointedly, "that it's Jess. He's usually up to something, and sometimes you're better off not knowing what it is."  
  
Rory paused and considered that. "Well."  
  
"You can stop praising my deductive capabilities now," Paris said. "I've gotta go and make sure my roommate hasn't turned our room into a pig sty again. She even throws *my* stuff around." Rory smiled at her friend as she left.  
  
Jess usually *was* up to something, Rory thought. But he didn't usually have the money to pull anything off. Now he did. And she knew he was being responsible with it. He had several thousands set aside for investment to hopefully keep him in money. But what was he going to do?  
  
Maybe he was going to franchise Luke's Diner. The thought made Rory grin maniacally. Yeah, and there would be pigs flying over the campus tomorrow when she woke up. Realizing she would probably never guess what he was doing, Rory decided to head out to buy her textbooks.  
  
**********  
  
That night Rory was once again staying at the hotel with Jess. The landlord had been delighted that someone was willing to move in right away and had approved Jess' application, so he would be out of the hotel by the next day.  
  
"Then you'll be driving back to Stars Hollow for your stuff?" Rory asked him as they lay side by side in the dark. She felt him nodding, but he didn't say anything. "So you'll be gone for a couple days?" Again the nod. "Darn. I guess I'll just have to get used to my dorm bed."  
  
"It won't be that long before you're moving in with me," he said. "And running up my phone bill talking to Lorelai." Rory smiled. She talked with her mother for at least an hour every night. Now that she was gone--and now that they were engaged--Luke had officially moved into the Gilmore house, or, rather, the Gilmore-Danes house. The wedding preparations were the main topic of discussion for Lorelai, and getting used to college was Rory's.  
  
"Probably," Rory said, then snuggled closer to Jess. "But you're a rich man, you can handle it."  
  
"Yeah," he said, adjusting his position just slightly. His thoughts drifted for a while, until he heard Rory's light snoring. He grinned as he always did when he heard the delicate noise that she fervently denied she made.  
  
The property was as good as his. If the landlord hadn't objected to his application for an apartment, Jess didn't see why he would turn down his application for the storefront, especially since he had enough to pay for the first several years in advance if he had to. His stomach began to churn at the thought of what he was risking.  
  
He was going to open his own bookstore. He hoped. A used bookstore, something to cater to everyday people who just wanted something good to read as well as collectors willing to spend hundreds on books. He didn't know what he was going to call it, but he had almost everything else worked out in his head. The next few months were going to be a lot of work for him and for Rory, who he was going to tell once he knew he could get the property beneath his apartment. But he didn't want to jinx it.  
  
*And on that note,* he thought, shutting his brain off for the night, *I'm going to sleep.*  
  
**********  
  
Last chapter coming next. And congratulations to Gohan Keller, who guessed what Jess was gonna do with the money. Good for you!. . .I was hoping I wasn't being too obvious about that. . . 


	7. The End and The Beginning

****

Author's Note: Never, never, never again am I posting something before I finish it. That's all there is to it. I have had a lot of trouble finishing this up, and I feel that it unfortunately shows in the last two chapters. I just wasn't feeling inspired, probably thanks to that other AU Lit. fic I'm working on right now. Um, not that any of you care. So. This is it. This is the end of The End. That's all she wrote in this series. And I know it's all saccharine and sweet enough to rot your teeth, but this is where it is. Enjoy.

**********

**__**

The End

Luke, Lorelai, Jess, Rory, and even Liz were on hand on opening day. The advertising had been extensive and thorough, so they didn't lack for customers. Rory and Jess ran the register, while everyone else pitched in where needed. Luke had made the shelves for the store, his gift to Jess. Liz had bought two bags full of books she said she's always wanted to read. And Lorelai badgered people into buying things.

"Welcome to Literati Haven," Rory said, smiling brightly to the new customers. "I'm so glad you guys could come." Lane grinned at her best friend, and grabbed her boyfriend's hand. At college, she'd finally gotten away from her mother, if not her insecurities. And since she was attending Boston college, she and Rory got together often to hang out. In fact, Rory had introduced Lane to Kyle, the music major at Harvard currently being dragged into the store.

"Like we would miss this," Lane said, smiling broadly at Jess. "I can't believe our own little rebel is a business owner."

"Maybe, maybe not," Jess said, and didn't have to force a smile as he dropped change in a happy customer's hand. "We'll see," he said.

"Yeah," Lorelai commented from behind Lane. "Most businesses go down in the first two years of business. At least, that's what the statistics say."

"Mom!" Rory hissed. "Stop that! You're gonna make him nervous."

"Hey, Rory," Jess said, and slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her to him. "If this doesn't work, I'll become a photographer and work with you. We'll go on assignments together." Rory smiled and kissed his cheek then went to the other register to check out a customer.

"So," Lane said. "You're going to be working here now?" She leaned on the side of the counter and looked at the covers of books as Rory expertly scanned bar codes and prices. "Well, if you do, at least it's something you like."

"And the boss can't be beat," she said, smiling at Jess. She turned that smile on the customer, and the cash drawer ching-ed as it opened. "Enjoy your books," she said to the young man. "And remember, you can trade them in again for a quarter credit. Yeah, I guess I am working here," she told Lane. "I mean, when I can spare the time. It won't always be this busy, right?" She turned to Jess as she phrased the question.

"I kinda hope it will be," Jess said. "But there's always gonna be down time. It's just, I love this location. There's not another used bookstore for a five-block radius. Plus it's the holiday season, and a big time for book publishing."

"Wow," Lane said, sounding impressed. "You certainly did your research, didn't you?"

"Only intelligent business owners do that," Jess said. "I can't imagine why you're accusing me of doing research."

"Quite fishing for compliments," Rory said, then added to Lane, "Go! Shop! Spend money!"

"What money?" Lane demanded. "Don't you know we're poor musician college students?" She pushed away from the counter, then apologized to the woman she crashed into. "I'll see you guys later."

"Hey, remember the party," Rory called after her. "Eight o'clock, our place."

Lane waved behind her to show she'd heard, and grabbed Kyle's arm to drag him out of there.

Rory hadn't believed that the place could get busier, but apparently a lot of people spent their extended lunch breaks checking out the new business in town. They were supposed to close at seven that night, but they didn't manage to usher the last satisfied customer out until seven fifteen.

Both Jess and Rory collapsed against the door, happy to have the lock turned. "So, what now?" Rory asked, after they both mustered enough energy to stand on their own two feet again.

"Now, we count out the till," Jess said, and began outlining the closing procedure. "We clean up, we lock up, and go home."

"To an apartment full of people waiting to celebrate with us," Rory said, groaning as she remembered. 

"As long as they don't mind us sitting as we celebrate," Jess said, agreeing wholeheartedly with her exhaustion. However, he was far too happy as he counted out the cash register to be upset by this. He was doing it. He was running his own business. And who cared if it failed after a while? At least he was doing something, and he it was something he liked. And Rory was by his side.

They exited the store and climbed the stairs to what was still Jess' apartment. Inside, all the people they cared about were there. Luke, Lorelai and Liz had champagne, while Lane and Kyle had sparkling cider. 

"We are going to celebrate from the couch," Rory said, and promptly collapsed, falling against Jess when he sat, also.

"Well, we're still having a toast," Lane said, and handed Jess and Rory their own glasses of cider.

"To Jess," Rory said, lifting her glass in the air. "Entrepreneur."

"To Jess!" everyone else chorused, then drank from their glasses.

"Stop, you're making me blush," Jess said, for once, not being sarcastic. He hid behind his glass for a long moment.

"And now, let's party!" Lorelai called, and headed for the CD player.

Liz came over to sit on the couch next to her son. "Jess," she said, then stopped, biting her lip. "I'm just…so proud of you." She took a deep, shuddering breath before continuing. " I never believed that you would do something like this. Not that you weren't capable," she added hastily, panic overtaking her features. "It's just…"

"It's just that I didn't give anyone the idea that I would ever do anything constructive," Jess said, and smiled at his mother. "I know, mom. I didn't even give myself that idea for a long, long time."

"But here you are," Rory said. "So there." The trio laughed, and Liz got up. "Well, my flight leaves soon. I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer, but…"

"I know," Jess said. "Business calls. Don't worry about it, mom. I'll call you on Christmas, okay?" Liz leaned down to kiss him on the cheek, then called goodbyes to everyone in the apartment.

Jess and Rory sat on the couch, holding hands and basking in the contentment of a good day. He caught her yawning about nine, and ordered her to bed. "Come on," he said. "You've been up since six, and considering what time your first class is, you aren't used to that. And despite the fact that your blood is ninety percent caffeine, you're still tired. Go to bed."

"I'll help her," Lane said, and put her arm around her best friend's waist. "Come on, Rory," she said coxingly. "Time for bedy-bye."

"Stop talking like that," Rory snapped around a yawn. "I'm not two again, you know. I'm just tired. You'll join me soon, right Jess?" she asked over her shoulder.

"Of course," Jess said. Lane and Kyle said another congratulations and then goodbye, leaving Jess, Luke and Lorelai alone. "You guys headed home tomorrow?" Jess asked.

"Yep," Lorelai said, flopping down on the couch next to him. "Early, tomorrow, if your uncle has his way," she added, glaring at Luke from her half-prone position. 

"I'll drive, you sleep," Luke said tolerantly.

"And you'll dress me, feed me and carry me to the car?" Then she smiled. "Hey, that sounds kinda nice. Do you think you could—"

"No."

Jess snickered. "Hey, Luke, could you do me a favor and start loading up the fridge?" He wanted to talk to Lorelai.

"Yeah, sure," Luke answered, casting a suspicious eye at his nephew and fiancé.

Jess caught Lorelai looking at him sideways. "What's that all about?" she asked him.

"I have a proposal for you," Jess stated.

"Isn't that what you should be saying to my daughter?" Jess looked at her innocently, and she sighed. "Fine. Speak."

"How much do you need to start up your inn?"

Lorelai was caught flat-footed—not an easy thing when you're sitting down. "Uh, well…"

"I mean, you and Sookie have looked for properties around Stars Hollow for a while, right?" Lorelai nodded. "And Rory tells me you've found a good possibility."

"Yeah. It's this old Dragonfly Inn. The nice old lady who runs the bakery owns it, and is still in the process of considering letting us rent-to-buy, as long as it remains an inn." Lorelai smiled at that. Then, the expression was gone from her face. "With the sale of the Independence Inn at hand, it's a good thing, too."

"Yeah, I keep meaning to ask, who's sniffing around about that?"

"It's a spa, if you can believe that," she said. "At least it won't be some big chain of hotel for competition. I've been meaning to approach the new owners to talk about a discount for our customers at the Inn."

"So, what do you _need_?" Jess asked again. Lorelai looked at him again, even more wary. He sighed. "Look. I need an investment, right? I'd like to invest in you and Sookie's inn." All he got in response was blinking. "Lorelai?"

"You…want to invest in…me?"

"And Sookie. And your inn."

"Why?"

"Multiple reasons, really," Jess said, trying to sound knowledgeable. "For one, that area needs a hotel-type business. The closest one is in Hartford, and it doesn't have nearly the surroundings that Stars Hollow does. For another, I know how well you and Sookie ran the Independence Inn. Last, I know you, and I know how badly you want this. And how badly Rory wants this for you. She wants you to be happy and have your dreams come true."

"So what are you asking in return?" she asked, business back in her tone.

"Partial ownership," he said.

"How partial?"

"Twenty percent."

"For how much money do you get twenty percent of our business?"

"How much do you need?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes as she tried to do the math required. She finished muttering to herself, and said, "About twenty thousand."

Jess nodded. "And for twenty thousand, I get twenty percent of the business. No say whatsoever in how it's run or anything."

"You want to be our silent partner?" Lorelai asked, screwing up her face.

"Kinda," Jess said, nodding. "My broker called me today. I've made a few thousand in the market all ready, so I've got some to send your way. Why don't you go home, talk to Sookie, and think about it. Call me in, say, a week?"

"Are you serious, Jess?" she asked, turning to look him full in the face.

"I'm always serious," he said. "But specifically about this, yes."

"Why?"

Jess looked at her in contempt. "I told you this."

"I know. But now tell me the real reason."

"You're Rory's mother. I'm hoping, someday, you'll be my mother-in-law as well as my aunt-in-law. Happy?" Jess turned away.

"Boy, if you don't know the story, that sentence sounds really wrong," Lorelai said. She bit her lip. "Okay. I'll call you in a week. Luke!"

"Yeah?" Luke said from the kitchen.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah." He appeared in the doorway.

"Bye, Jess," Lorelai said, and then went to say goodbye to Rory, in case she was still awake.

"See ya, Luke, Lorelai," Jess said, giving no indication that there was anything going on between himself and Lorelai. "Call when you get home."

"Rory said that," Lorelai told him. "And we will."

Lorelai and Luke headed down to their car to drive to their hotel. "You raised a good kid, Luke," Lorelai told him. She kissed him on the cheek, then buckled her seatbelt.

Luke didn't know what to say, so he didn't even try. He just started the engine, and said, "What say we drive back now?"

"We all ready paid for the hotel room," Lorelai said.

"We'll live," he said. "I want to get back home."

Lorelai shrugged. "Fine. You're driving. It's a good amount of hours. We won't get home until two or three in the morning. Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Luke said. "Caesar can open in the morning. We'll sleep in."

Lorelai smiled at her fiancé. "I like that idea. Okay, let's go."

And they drove home to Stars Hollow. 

**********

The End. Utterly. Really. That's it. Go home. And thank you, fervently, for reading.


End file.
